How Toronto landlords use renovictions to force out tenants

It was a three-bedroom atop a quaint coffee shop on Bloor, just west of Dovercourt, with big windows, new hardwood floors, a living room and an office. At $2,500 a month, it wasn’t exactly a bargain, but as anyone who has apartment-hunted in Toronto over the past few years knows, the concept of what’s “affordable” is rapidly changing.

“Renoviction” is when a landlord evicts a tenant under the guise of needing to complete major renovations requiring the tenants to move out, and then re-lists the apartment for more than the original rent. Technically, the evicted tenant has the right of first refusal to move back in after the renovations are complete without a substantial increase in rent, but there is no law in place to force landlords to contact the former tenant. Sometimes the tenant sees the listing again and realizes they were duped, but often they never find out.Â